I had a lifelong dream. A life just to be on, in, and harvest our waters. First a kid on the Chesapeake Bay, 27 years in the Florida Keys and in 2014, owning a small waterfront motel in Matlacha, giving boat tours to guests from around the world. A place to live the rest of my life fulfilling passions in paradise.
My dream came true. Then came 2016, first time I learned of Harmful Cyanobacteria Algae. The toxic bloom blanketed the Caloosahatchee River and Cape Coral canals. I stood on my dock and thought, “If that bloom comes here, my business will be destroyed; I will have to leave.” 2017 saw a reprieve but not for long. Summer of 2018 brought the worst red tide in history to Southwest Florida. Dead sea life blanketed beaches for months. Businesses shuttered doors. Millions of dollars were lost daily. Laid off employees were forced into lines at food banks. My two businesses’ revenue went to zero.
Fortunately, I survived the downturn; many businesses did not. Many folks were forced away; dreams of paradise lost.
Watching degradation accelerate, I began a deep dive on the 1,000 cuts killing Florida: Agricultural pollution flowing into Lake Okeechobee, phosphate mining, failing infrastructure, herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers, and ultimately failed legislative and regulatory stewardship cored in a framework of failure that does nothing until harmful impacts reach a point of no return favoring remediation over prevention.
I hoped for respite from now perpetual algae blooms. No relief came. Lyngbya cyanobacteria blooms grew rapidly covering seagrass beds. My backyard was packed with floating algae emitting hydrogen sulfide gases sending neighbors to hospitals. Motel guests complained and left. Decaying algae sinks to burn all oxygen from the waters overnight and we awoke to major fish kills. FWC would bring dead manatees to the Matlacha boat ramp at the end of my canal for pickup. Explaining all this to tourists on my eco-tours became impossible.
Being vocal, I was asked to run for office. Shortly thereafter I discovered the most expedient way to bring effective change. “We the People” can create protective laws we want; the petition process to amend local city, county and state constitutions. NO POLITICIAN REQUIRED! It has taken several years to help build the 2026 Florida’s Right to Clean Water state constitutional amendment campaign. Collecting 900K signatures will end the biggest problem impacting Florida waters. We will have the missing tool to hold state agencies accountable for actions allowing harm to our waters and legal standing to bring civil actions “upstream” ending major sources of pollution while shifting remediation from taxpayers’ backs onto the polluters.
Statewide Clean Water Advocacy organizations will benefit from this new law in achieving their mission statements. Ask your favorite groups if they are supporting the amendment; if not, ask Why Not? and how can they not? The power this law will bring to conservation should be included in every discussion for Florida waters and our “Blue Economy.” I had a dream, and it’s now a life goal forever lost. June 2021 was when I determined, “It’s time to leave.”
Fortunate enough to have lived my dream, I now have a wish; I wish for all Floridians to join our 100% grassroots effort with volunteers and organizations supporting the campaign statewide. You can be the change for Florida waters. Five minutes to print, sign and mail your petition; a few more to share it with friends. For the price of a stamp, we can recapture our dreams of clean waters. Please visit floridarighttocleanwater.org today to make this new law a reality.
Capt. Karl R. Deigert, is chairman of the Florida Right to Clean & Healthy Waters political action committee for 2026. A pharmacist by profession, charter captain by avocation and a clean water advocate by passion. A Florida resident since 1986, he currently resides in Ocala to lead the fight for clean water for all Floridians.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Toxic bloom poisoned a dream